Community Services

When the surgery does not provide the service in-house, the doctors and nurses will refer patients for community services.

Baby Clinic

The baby clinic is held on a Wednesday afternoon between 1pm and 3pm at 60 Patmos road, SW9 6AF (Tel: 020 3049 6437). The clinic runs according to a first come, first serve basis. This clinic is for weighing and advice; regrettably, sick babies cannot be seen in this clinic.

Children and Young People Health Partner (CYPHP)

This service is for children under the age of 18 suffering with either: Asthma, Constipation, Epilepsy, or Eczema. You can receive a free health support pack to aid you in managing your child's condition. For more information visit: - WWW.Cyphp.org/Health-Check

District Nurses

The District Nurses visit our patients in their homes when they are housebound and unable to come to the surgery for treatment such as taking bloods, changing of catheters, giving B12 injections, dressings etc.

Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS)

MECS is a NHS funded service for all that are registered with a GP within Lambeth and Lewisham. If you have a sudden concern with the health of your eyes or if your GP advises you to attend – you may be entitled to an appointment with a specifically accredited optometrist. These community based practices offer ease of access to highly trained health professionals with specialized equipment, with the aim of helping to manage your eye complaint.

Pre-appointment Advice - Please bring a list of your current medication, your spectacles and contact lenses with case and solution (if applicable) to the appointment.

You may need to have eye drops instilled as part of the examination that temporarily affects your vision. Please do not drive to the appointment.

Data Protection - In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this service, some non-identifiable data, such as age, ethnic origin, the type of eye problem and how the optometrist dealt with it, is collected for review. Your personal data such as your name, date of birth or address will not be collected.

Bereavement Services and Counselling

Lambeth Branch of Cruse Bereavement Care is now able to provide the local community with one-to-one support. Information and advice is available to bereaved people, who are invited to contact the branch at any time along the bereavement journey - however, wherever and whenever their loved one died.

Patients can self-refer to this service by calling the branch on 020 8939 2532. You may be asked to leave a message and someone will call you back as soon as possible or you can email the service at lambeth@cruse.org.uk

Lambeth Talking Therapies

Lambeth Talking Therapies Service is part of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service (IAPT). The service is available to anyone 18 years and older who lives in Lambeth or is registered with a Lambeth GP.

They offer talking therapies for people experiencing mild to moderate depression, general anxiety and worry, panic attacks, social anxiety, traumatic memories and obsessive compulsive disorder. They also offer help with other problems including anger, eating, and relationship or sexual difficulties.

They offer appointments at many GP surgeries and clinics across the borough of Lambeth.

If their service isn't right for you, they will suggest alternatives that are more likely to meet your needs and put you in contact with an appropriate service.

Again, you canself-referto the service or a doctor or nurse will refer you. Ask a doctor or nurse for further information.

The community podiatry (foot health) clinics offer a range of services to assess, treat and advise patients on any foot condition.

Podiatrists (healthcare professionals trained in all aspects of care for the feet and lower limbs, including the most common foot problems) provide expertise in preventing and treating disorders of the foot and ankle.

You must be registered with a GP in Lambeth or Southwark to access this service.

They aim to help you to:

relieve pain

maintain function and mobility

prevent or minimise deformity

reduce the risk of ulceration and amputation.

Treatment is provided through individual care plans and carried out in community health clinics.

Urgent foot problems

You can also refer yourself to your nearest urgent clinic if you encounter an urgent foot problem.

Conditions that qualify as requiring urgent assistance:

sudden pain in your foot

recent injury

if you notice blood or discharge on your sock/hosiery

if you think you have an infection

ulcerations

pre-ulcerous corns (red/brown/black discolouration beneath corn)

inflamed ingrowing toenail.

Please note:nail cutting and hard skin, corn and callus removals are not carried out at the emergency clinics.

The urgent clinic is a non bookable clinic and patients are treated on a first come first served basis. Unfortunately during busy periods there may be a significant wait.

Please be aware that the podiatrist may assess and advise only. Treatment is not guaranteed. The nearest clinic for our patients is:

Elmcourt Health Centre, 214-218 Norwood Road, London SE27 9AW

Tel: 020 3049 5700

Wednesdays 11.00 am to 12.30 pm

Travel Vaccinations

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice travel nurse to discuss your travel arrangements. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below

Please contact the Surgery to make your appointment for the travel clinic, 72 hours post submitting the travel questionnaire to allow time for your questionnaire to be processed. We recommend your appointment should be booked 6 weeks prior to departure. The Surgery does not operate a cheque or card procedure. Vaccines should be paid for by cash on the day of your appointment. Vaccinations will not be given if payment not received. There is a charge for non-NHS Vaccines - please see non-NHS fees

There is currently a shortage on both Hep A and Hep B vaccines across the UK. As a result the vaccine is unavailable at present except to high risk groups. This means that the vaccine will only be given to Surgeons and dentists as these fall into the high risk category. These vaccinations however can be obtained from private clinics and pharmacies alongside a fee. (Malaria is also no longer available on NHS prescription)

Travelling in Europe

If you are travelling to Europe the EU has published useful information for travellers on the European website.

Clinics & Services

Asthma

Our Nurse Michelle Weston, will see you for your asthma review. We encourage everyone with asthma to attend once a year to make sure they are on the best treatment and using it properly. If you are asthmatic and haven't been to our asthma clinic please make an appointment at reception.

Blood Clinic

If your Doctor or Nurse has requested blood tests for you, these could be taken by our Healthcare Assistant:

Tuesday (8.30am-9:50am)

Thursday (9am-11:10am)

To make an appointment please ask the reception

Heart Disease

If you have been diagnosed with CHD you will automatically go onto our database and will be contacted to arrange an annual review appointment in the Heart Clinic. Please ask our receptionist for an appointment if you think you need a full review.

In this clinic patients are given all the relevant tests they need and can discuss what they can do to reduce their risks. A full medication review is done. For people who smoke a referral to our STOP SMOKING CLINIC can be arranged.

Care of the Elderly

For people who are 65 and over, we would suggest a yearly health check-up. Please ask reception for an appointment.

Please remember, you're also advised to have your yearly Flu Jab and one off Pneumonia Vaccine.

Cervical Smears

We run a cervix smear clinic every Wednesday evening 6-7pm. But any other appointments wih our nurses are available for cervix smear.

The practice nurse or doctor will take a sample from the cervix (the neck of the womb) by gently rotating a brush over it. This sample is mixed into a preservative fluid and sent to the Hospital cytology Lab for analysis.

You will be invited for a smear test according to national guidelines i.e. every three years from age 25.

Child Health

Your Doctor, Nurse and Health Visitor will be happy to provide advice on any aspect of child health.

The immunization clinic and the childhood surveillance are both available by appointment.

Homeopathy & Acupuncture

We offer NHS complementary therapy every other Friday afternoon from 4pm to 6pm.

Dr O'Flynn is fully qualified for Acupuncture and Homeotherapy which could be useful in combating all sorts of debilitating conditions including arthritis, rheumatism, migraines, bronchitis and depression.

Minor Surgery

Dr Savan is skilled and enthusiastic about performing Minor Surgery. By doing the surgery here in the practice we reduce significantly the wait for some of these procedures.

We are able to perform a number of minor operations at the surgery, for example: injecting joints, treatment of warts and some other skin problems by freezing with liquid nitrogen.

Your doctor will make an initial assessment in a normal surgery appointment. You will normally need to return on another occasion for the treatment, to allow for time and preparation.

Psychology & Counselling

All referrals for either psychology or counselling are made via self referral on telephone number: 02032286747 and/or Leaflet can be collected from reception.

Smoking Cessation

Young Person Friendly Services

Your practice has been awarded a "Young Person Friendly Award"

Young people (including those under 16 years) can be seen without a parent if they choose to

The consultation will be confidential but in some circumstances, if we feel the young person may be at risk or in danger, we may have to break that confidence but will inform the young person what we are doing and who we need to tell.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Isn’t the NHS supposed to be free?

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions: prescription charges have existed since 1951 and there are a number of other services for which fees are charged. Sometimes the charge is made to cover some of the cost of treatment, for example, dental fees; in other cases, it is because the service is not covered by the NHS, for example, providing copies of health records or producing medical reports for insurance companies.

Surely the doctor is being paid anyway?

It is important to understand that many GPs are not employed by the NHS; they are self-employed and they have to cover their costs - staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc - in the same way as any small business. The NHS covers these costs for NHS work, but for non-NHS work, the fees charged by GPs contribute towards their costs.

What is covered by the NHS and what is not?

The Government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients, including the provision of ongoing medical treatment. In recent years, however, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work. Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to ensure that information provided to them is true and accurate.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients are:

accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes

school fee and holiday insurance certificates

reports for health clubs to certify that patients are fit to exercise

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:

life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies

reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with disability

living allowance and attendance allowance

medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering

Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?

With certain limited exceptions, for example a GP confirming that one of their patients is not fit for jury service, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients. Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, for example for insurance purposes, they are not required to do such non-NHS work.

Is it true that the BMA sets fees for non-NHS work?

The BMA suggests fees that GPs may charge their patients for non-NHS work (ie work not covered under their contract with the NHS) in order to help GPs set their own professional fees. However, the fees suggested by the BMA are intended for guidance only; they are not recommendations and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates we suggest.

Can a fee be charged by a GP for the completion of cremation forms?

A deceased person cannot be cremated until the cause of death is definitely known and properly recorded. Before cremation can take place two certificates need to be signed, one by the GP and one by another doctor. Cremation form 4 must be completed by the ’registered medical practitioner who attended the deceased during their last illness’. Form 5 must be completed by a ’registered medical practitioner who is neither a partner nor a relative of the doctor who completed form 4’.

A fee can be charged for the completion of both forms 4 and 5 as this does not form part of a doctor’s NHS duties (1). Doctors normally charge these fees to the funeral director, who, generally passes on the cost to the family. Doctors are also entitled to charge a mileage allowance, where appropriate.

Can VAT be charged by GPs for some non-NHS services?

Where the main purpose of a medical service is the ’protection, maintenance or restoration of the health of an individual’ then that service should continue to be exempt from VAT. All heath care provided either through the NHS, or the private sector, is therefore not subject to VAT.

However, where the purpose of a medical service is not, primarily, the treatment of a patient (for example, the completion of medical insurance reports by a doctor), the Court ruled that this service should be subject to VAT. Such GP reports have been subject to VAT since 1 May 2007. In the UK this applies where a medical practitioner’s income exceeds the VAT registration threshold.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find they have to take some paperwork home at night and weekends.

I only need the doctor’s signature - what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the doctor might have to check the patient’s entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.

What will I be charged?

The BMA recommends that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what the fee will be. It is up to individual doctors to decide how much they will charge, but the BMA produces lists of suggested fees which many doctors use. Surgeries often have lists of fees on the waiting room wall based on these suggested fees.

What can I do to help?

Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge.

Do not make an appointment to have your forms completed. You will need to hand your forms in to reception who will pass them on to the Administrator. The Administrator will contact you prior to any work being completed to ensure you are aware and agree the cost.

If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.

Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight: urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this will cost more.

Disabled Patients

Access:

There is a lowered doorbell should you require assistance from one of the reception staff

We have a platform lift for patients that need to be seen by a clinician on the 1st Floor.